E-shopping and its possible impact on personal travel behaviour The Internet makes it possible to conduct activities, such as working and shopping, without travelling to activity places. As e-shopping becomes popular, it can fundamentally change people's travel behaviour. In this study we have used a literature review, an Internet survey of e-shoppers, and The Netherlands National Travel Survey to analyse the possible impact of e-shopping on travel behaviour. The findings of our analyses indicate that people living in areas with relatively many shopping opportunities buy online as often as people who live in areas with relatively few shopping opportunities. People who spend a lot of time on in-store shopping are typically women, over sixty years of age, with a low level of education on a low income, and living in a more urbanised area; online buyers can be characterised as men, aged between 25 and 40, highly educated, on a high income, and living in a less urbanised area. From the review and findings, we have derived four hypotheses describing the future impact of shopping on travel: first, some shopping time will be saved and used for other maintenance or discretionary activities instead; second, the enlargement and fragmentation of an individual's action spaces will be fostered and so lead to increased travel distances; third, e-shopping will affect travel behaviour most in the urbanised Western part and in the less urbanised parts of the Netherlands; finally, a reduction in car travel in the less urbanised areas of the Netherlands and a reduction in walking and cycling in the more urbanised areas of The Netherlands is expected. (Author/publisher)
Abstract